1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to data communications and, more particularly, to a system for facilitating the transfer of data by using a picoprocessor located logically out of the main data path for conducting calculations and control functions in a fashion which is decoupled or separate from the main data path.
2. Prior Art
Communications system are becoming faster and faster as the communication equipment, as well as the actual physical medium over which data is transmitted, improves. The communication equipment is becoming "smarter", each piece of equipment having its own microprocessors for controlling the activity of the equipment.
For example, microprocessors are utilized to perform a variety of functions within communication equipment. A microprocessor is especially valuable due to the flexibility it allows and the speed at which it operates. A change to software which runs the equipment allows the equipment performance to be modified without modifying the hardware. The speed at which a microprocessor transfers data is also relatively fast.
There is a problem, however, when the microprocessor in the communication equipment becomes the bottle-neck of the data transfer. This can occur because of a number of reasons, such as when the microprocessor is responsible for too many tasks, when there has been a sudden surge of activity, or when the speed at which the data needs to be transferred is faster than the microprocessor can provide.